Gang-plow



1. A. BERGREN.

GANG PLOW.

APPLICATION FILED IuLY 29, 1920.

Patented Aug. .30, 1921.

GANG PLOW.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 29, 1920.

l. A. BERGREN.

GANG PLOW. APPLICATION H'LED JULY 29. 1920.

1,389,479. Y Patented Aug. 30, 1921.

wf/170e ,1. A. ERGREN.

GANG PLOW.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 29,1920.

1,389,479, Patented Augso, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

the tractor to which the PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN A. BERG-REN, OF LAKEl PARK, MINNESOTA.

GANG-prow.

Application filed July 29,

To allie/1.0m# may concern Be it known that I, JOHN A. BERGREN, a'itizen of the United States, residing at Lake Park, in the county ofBecker and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and usefulimprovements in Gang-Flows; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same. v

My present invention relates to improvements in gang plows, and to thisend, it consists of the novel devices and combinations of deviceshereinafter described and defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention, likecharacters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of the improved gangplow, looking at the same from the front and at an oblique angle ofabout fortylive degrees; i'

Fig. 2 is a view partly in rightr side elevation and partly inlongitudinal vertical section, taken on the irregular line 2-2 of Fig.1, and further illustrating` a portion of gang plow is attached; A

Fig. 3 is a View partly in front elevation and partly in` transversesection, taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. t is a detail view, with some parts sectioned onv the line l-d ofFig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail view, with some parts sectioned on the line 5-5 ofFig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a detail View, with some sectioned on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a left side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 6, some ofsaid parts being diagrammatically illustrated by means of broken lines;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary detail View of the lever and its dog-releasingtrips;

Fig. 9 is a detail view intransverse section, taken on the line 9-9 ofFig. 6, on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary detail view of the plow guides and spacingdevices.

Fig. 11 is an outside elevation of the front furrow wheel; and Y Fig. 12is a longitudinal vertical section taken on the 'line 12M-12 of Fig. 1.

The plow truck includes a frame 15, a flnt .land wheel 16, a frontfurrow wheel parts Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 30, 1921..

1920. serial No. 399,850.

17, and a rear furrow wheel 18. The truck frame 15, as shown, includestwo bars bent to form an approximate triangle, and the sides of thetriangle form the front end of the frame and the land side thereof. TheVtwo frame bars, at the land side, are extended rearward in parallelarrangement to form a frame extension '19. Two transversely spacedAlongitudinally extended tie-bars 2O and 21 rigidly connect the front andoblique rear members of the frame 15. The front and rear members of theframe 15 are further rigidly connected by a triangular casting 22 havingan arm 23, which first extends transversely toward the furrow side ofthe frame and then rearward and has formed therein a vertically inclinedbearing- 24. This bearing 24 isfurther connected to the frame 15 by anoblique brace 25. Triangular castings 26 are interposed between thefurrow sides of the tie-bars 20 and 21 and the rear member of the frame15, are rigidly secured thereto and assist the casting 22 in holding theframe against angular twisting movement. These castings 22 and- 26 alsoafford means for connecting the plow beams to the truck frame 15, aswill presently appear.

VBolted to the land side of the frame 15 is a bearing bracket 27, and acasting 28 is in- Y terposed between the members of the frame extension19 and rigidly bolted thereto. This casting 28 is extended vrearward ofthe frame extension 19, toward the furrow side thereof, and is providedwith a vertical bearing 29. The members of the frame eX- tension 19, attheir front ends, are further rigidly connected by a double brace 30.

A draft bar 31, having a plurality of transversely spaced perforations,is connected'to the front member of the frame 15 for vertical swingingmovement by a horizontal bolt 32 mounted in a pair of transverselyspaced hinge lugs 33 bolted to said front member ofthe frame. A couplingbar 34C is pivoted to the draft bar 31.in one of its perforations andconnects the gang plow to a tractor 35 having a seat 36 for anoperator.y

The land wheel 16 is loosely journaled on a trunnion 37 on the lower endof a tubular post 38 turnably and slidably mounted in the bearings 27.Keyed to the post 38, above the bearing 27, is a bell crank 39 providedfor a purpose that will presently appear. For raising and lowering theframe 15, at

the land wheel 16, there is provided a vertically disposed lock segmentIl() and coperating latch lever l1 intermediately ulcrumed to the hub0I" the lock segment 4:6 and having its short end connected by a link 42to the bearing bracket 27. rlhe hub ot the lock Ysegment l0 is turnablymounted on the upper end of the post 38 and rests on the hub of the bellcrank 39 as a base of resistance.

rlhe furrow wheel 17 is journaled on the trunnion 4:3, on the lower endof a post dit, turnably and slidably mounted in the bearing 2st. Toraise or lower the frame 15, at the furrow wheel 17, there 1s providedvertically disposed lock segment a5 and cooperating latch lever 4:6connected by a link 47 to the bearing bracket 2e. The latch lever i6 isintermediately ulcrumed on the lock segment d5, the hub of which isturnably mounted on the post la and held against axial movement by apair of collars i6 secured on said post. ligidly secured to the post elis a forwardly projecting arm 49 connected by a longitudinallyadjustable link to the coupling` bar 34. Obviously the connections 4-9and 50 will impart angular steering movement to the furrow wheel 1 7from the coupling` bar 34. The land wheel 16 is connected for .commonsteering movement with the furrow wheel 17 by a longitudinallyextensible link 5l pivoted to the intermediate portion of the arm i9 andto one o1 the arms et the bell crank 39.

The rear wheel 18 is journaled on a trunnion 52 on the lower `end of apost 53 turnably and slidably mounted in the bearing 29, and to raise orlower this end ot the trame 15, there is provided a lock segment 54 andcoperatiimY latch lever 55 connected by a link 56 to the bearing 29. Thehub ci the lock segment ll is turnably mounted on the post 58 and heldagainst aizial movement between two collars 57 secured on said pos" Tocause the wheel 1S to turn sin/iuttaneonsly with the wheels 16 and 17there is formed with the lower collar 57 an 56 connected by a longitudially extensible link 59 to the arn'i of the bell crank 69. lt desired,the link 59 may be adjusted to set-the rear wheel 16 at slight angl@ inrespect to the front wheel 16, so as to cause said wheel 18 to crowdagainst the lateral thrust produced by the plows.

rlhe plows 66 have the customary beams 61 pivoted at 62 to and betweendepending higs on the brackets 22 and 26. The plows 6() are raised andlowered by a roclcsliatt 63 journaled in bearing brackets 6l having;4keyed thereto, for the two outside plows, a pair of crank arms 65, andfor the inside plow, a crank arm 66 is loosely mounted on said shaft.ylhe crank and 66 have wrist pins 67,'to which are pivoted the frontends of longitudinally extensible rods 68, the rear ends of which aremounted with. freedom for endwise sliding movement in bearings 69 in theupperv ends of upwardly and rearwardly projecting` arms 70 bolted to theplow beams 6l.

Cot-ter pins 71, in the rods 66, are arranged to engage the bearings 69as stops to cause the rods 68, when pulled forward, to litt the plows60. Coil springs 72, encircling the rods 68, are compressed between thebearings 69 and longitudinally adjustable collars 76 on `said rods topermit the plows to litt by compressing these springs, in case theyshould strike a stone, stump or other obstruction. 'To connect the plowswith free- .l

dom for independent lifting` movement and, at the same time, hold thesame properly spaced, the two inside arms 70 are provided withintegrally formen transverse extensions 74, on the outer ends oit whichare bolted castings having forwardly projecting` lugs 75. lhese lugsproject between pairs of connected laterally spaced rduide bars 7 67that. extend on the arc of a curve having its center at, orapproximately at, the pivotal connections 62 'lor the plow beams 61.

lt will be noted that it is only necessary to provide the two outsideplows with the guide bars 42, and which guide bars are pivoted to andbetween pairs ot rearwardly projecting straps 77 bolted to the plowbeams 61. The intermedia-te portions oi' the guide bars 76 intersect thearms 7 O and are adjustably connected thereto with freedom for eitherforward er backward movement by bolts 76 secured. to said guide arms andextending through segmental slots 7 9 in the arms 70. rlhis adjustmentot the guide bars 76 permits the same to be properly positioned inrespect to the lugs 7 5.

ils previously stated, the crank arm 66 is loosely moi-.inted on therock-shalt 63 and held axial movement thereon by forminojn said sha'ttan annular groove 6U to receive a pin 8l secured in the hub said arm. Tolock thocrank arm 66 to the rock-shaft 66, the same is provided on itshub with a halt-clutch 82 arranged to receive a coperatingg half-clutch83 slidably mounted on the rock-shaft 63 and adapted to be lockedthereto by a set screw 84. On the it'ree end or" the crank arm 66 is anextension 65 ha Ting wrist pin 66 `and an eye S7 intormediately locatedbetween said wrist pin and the respective wrist pin 67.

ln case it is desired to use only two plows, the inside plow may be heldraised by moving; the halt-clutch out oli engagement with thehalt-clutch 62, drawing theAY crank arm 66 forward and inserting,- Vahook 88, anchored to the front member of the frame 15,'throuhh the eyeS7 in the crank arm eX- tension 85, lidi it is desirable to hold theinside plow raised still higher, its rod 68 may be detached from thewrist pin 67 and attached to the wrist pin 66. i

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rock-shaft 63.

To oscillate the rock-shaft 63 and thereby raise the plows eitherbyhand'or power, there is loosely pivoted on the rock-shaft 63 a lever 89connected to a hub of the inner crank arm`65 by a clutch 89, whichindireetly connects said lever to the lrock-shaft with freedom forslight circumferential movement thereon, for a purpose that willpresently appear. The lever 89 may be adjustably held in either of itsextreme positions by a lock segment 90 formed with the inside bearingV64rand a pair of one-way ratchet-acting` lock dogs 91 mounted in upperand lower bearings 92 on a dog carrier in the form of a pair of radiallyextended arms 93 formed with a hub keyed to the Coil spring-s 94,compressed between the upper lugs 92 and pins 95 in the lock dogs 91,yieldingly hold said lock dogs V on the periphery of the lock segment 90or in any one of two lock notches 96 in each extremity of the peripheryof said lock segment. To prevent the lock dogs 91 from turning in thelugs 92, the same, as shown, are square in cross section'and lit incorrespondingly formed seats in said lugs. The lock dogs 91, at theirupper extremities, are bent laterally and connected by a tie-bar-9`7,which is pivoted thereto, and it will be noted that the lever 89 worksbetween said laterally bent ends. This tie-bar 97 permits independentendwise movement of the lock dogs and also assists in holding the sameagainst turning movement.

To automatically release the lock'dogs 91 from the seats 96, there isrigidly secured to the lever 89 trips in the form of a pair ofoppositely projecting-arms 98 having on their upper edges cam surfaces99. arranged to engage the laterally bent ends of the lock dogs 91.vWhen the lever 89 isA moved forward to rock the shaft 63 and therebylift the plows, the initial movement of said lever will be in respect tosaid rock-shaft and thereby cause the cam surface 99, on the rearwardlyprojectingarm 97, to engage the rear lock dog 91 and lift` thev same outof the engaged seat 96. After this initial movement of the lever 89 inrespect to the rock-shaft 63, theclutch 89 will lock the lever 89 t0 therock-shaft 63 and the balance of the forward movement of said lever willcarry the front lock dog 91 into a position enter one of the seats 96and thereby lock the plows raised. If it is desirable to lift the -plowsstill farther, a continued forward movement of the lever 89 will causethe 'by cause the cam surface 99, of the rearwardly projecting arm 97,to engage the front lock dog 91 and lift the same out of the engagedseat 96. The clutch 89 will then become active to lock the lever 89 tothe rock-shaft 63. The balance of the rearward movement of the lever 89will llower the plow and allow the same to enter the ground. As theplows are entering` the ground, the rear lock dogg` 91 will enter theforemost rear seat 96, and a `further movement of said lever 89 in thesame direction willv cause said lock dog to cam itself out of theengaged seat 96 and enter the next seat 96, tolock the lever 89 againstforward movement under the action of the plows.

For oscillating the lever 89` either by hand or power, to raise or lowerthe plows, there is journaled, in a pair of bearing` brackets 100secured to the front member of the frame V15, a driven shaft 101 havingkeyed to its outer end a ratchet wheel 102 having an eccentricallylocated wrist pin 103 connected by a link 1041 to the intermediateportion of the lever 89. Then they plows are in the ground, the wristpin 103 is on a dead center, and by `giving the ratchet wheel'102 aonehalf rotation, the wrist pin 103 will be carried onto a dead centeron the opposite side of the ratchet wheel, and which one-half rotationwill raise the plows. Coperating Vwith. the ratchet wheel 102, to rotatethe shaft 101,`there is provided a gravity-held dog,` 102 pivoted to thelower section of a two-part hand lever 105. The lower section of thislever 105 is fulcrumed on the shaft the ratchet wheel 102. The uppersection of the lever 105 is removably held in a socket formed in theupper end of the lower seetion of said lever. To prevent backwardrotation ofV the shaft 101, there is pivoted to the outer bearing 100 aspring-held lock dog,` 106 arranged to engage theteeth of the ratchetwheel 102. 1n the upper end of the lever 89 is a socket adapted toreceive the upper section of the lever 105, and by which lever section,the rock-shaft 63l may be` directly operated and caused to move veryquickly. Then the rock-shaft 63 is thus operated, it will, of course, benecessary to either separate the link 104 from kthe lever 89 or thewrist pin 103. Y

To operatev the driven shaft 101 by power, thereis mounted on thetrunnion 37, for the front land wheel 16, a bevel gear 106 detachablyinterlocked by a clutch 107 to the inner end of the hub of said wheel.The purpose of thus connectingthe gear 106 to the hub of the wheel 16 isto permit the same to be removed incase said gear is broken or wearslout and a new one substituted therefor. The gear 106 meshes with a gear108 secured to the lower end of a shaft 109, which extends axiallythrough the tubular post 38. A gear 110 is connected to the upper end ofthe shaft 109 by a sliding key, whereby said shaft is free to moveaxially in said gea-r. The gear 110 is journalcd in the inside bearingbracket 100 and meshes with a gear 111 journaled on the inner end of theshaft @n thc outer end of the hub of "he gear 111 is ono-way half-clutch112. Coperating with the half-clutch 112 is a one-way halfclutcli 113keyed to the shaft 101 for rotation therewith, but with freedom foraxial sliding movement thereon. rEhe half-clutch 118 is yieldingly heldinter-locked with the half-clutch 112 by a coil spring 11e, whichcncircles the shaft 101 and is com aressed between said half-clutch 113and a longitudinally adjustable collar on sai-d shaft. flecured to thehalf-clutch 118 is a disk 115 having on its inner face pair ofdiametrically opposite cam lugs 116. Normally, the half-clutch 118 isheld out of engagement with the half-clutch 112, so that the drivenshaft 101 remains idle, by the engagement of one of the cam lugs 116with the cam surface 117 on the trigger 118 pivoted on a stud 119secured to the inside bearing bracket 100. The trigger 118 is providedwith an arm extension 120 and a coil spring 121, secured to saidextension and anchored to the inside bearing bracket 101, yieldinglyholds the trigger 118 against a stop pin 122 on said bearing bracket andwith its cam surface 117 in position to be engaged by the cam lugs 116,and, as previously stated, holds the half-clutch 118 released.

A cable 123 is attached to the arm eXtension 120 and tied to the supportfor the seat 36, where the same can be easily reached by an operator onsaid seat. 1f desired, housings may be provided for the gears 106, 108,110 and 111. 1t will also be noted that the lever 105 is within easyreach of the operator on the seat 36.

To make the lifting of the plows a comparatively easy matter undermanipulation of the lever 105, they are, in part, counterbalanced' orlifted by a relatively strong coil spring 1 2-1 and a relatively lightcoil spring 125. Vl`he spring 124 is anchored to the inside casting 26and attached to an arm 126 keyed to the inner end of the rock shaft63.rlhis spring 124 is designed to count-erhalance the two outside plowsand the spring 125 is designed to counterbalance the inside plow and isanchored to the inside casting 26 and to an arm extension 127 on the hubof the crank arm 66. flbviously, when the inside plow is held raised bythe hook 88, the counterbaiancing spring 125 is inactive.

Operation.

From the above description, it is evident that any one of the threelcorners of the frame 15 may be raised or lowered by manipulating thelevers L11, 416 and 55. Simultaneous angular steering movement, aspreviously stated, is imparted to the wheels 16, 17 and 18 through theseveral connections to the coupling bar 34. By manipulating the lever105, which entends within easy reach of the operator on the seat 36,step by step movement iay be imparted to the ratchet wheel 102 forraising and lowering the plows. The initial movement of the ratchetwheel102, through the link connection to the lever 89, automatically releasesthe lock dog 91, which is interlocked with one of the lock notches 96,Aand thereby releases thc rockshaft 68 so that the same may be oscillatedto either raise or lower the plows. i

1f theoperator wishes to operate the plows by power, he only needs topull on the cable 123 to move the trigger 118 out of contact with theengaged cam lug 116 and allow the spring 1141 to set the clutch 113 andthereby connect the shaft 101 to the front land wheel 16, which willturn the same through the several connections previously described. Assoon as the operator releases the cable 123, the trigger 118 is returnedto normal position by the spring 121, so as to be engaged by the nextcam lug 116 toautomatically disconnect the shaft 101 from the driving fconnections from the wheel'16 so as to im,- part only a one-halfrotation to the shaft 101 to move the wrist pin 103 from one side of theratchet wheel 102 to the other and thereby either raise or lower theplows.

While the lifting device, herein shown and broadly claimed, isespecially adapted for use in connection with gang plows, it, of course,is well adapted for use in lifting or operating various differentobjects.

What I claim is:

1. In a. gang plow, the combination with a truck frame, of a pluralityof plows having their beams pivotally attached to the truck frame,Aplow-lifting devices including a rockshaft, automatic locks for holdingthe rockshaft with the plows either raised or lowered, and a lever foroscillating the rock-shaft and having automatic trips for releasing theautomatic locks.

2. In la gang plow, the combination with a truck frame, of a pluralityof plows hav ing their beams pivotally attached to the truck frame,plow-lifting devices including a rock-shaft, automatic locks for holdingthe roclnshaft with the plows either raised ork lowered, a lever foroscillating the rockshaft and havingautomatic trips for releasing theautomatic locks, a sha-ft, means for rotating the shaft, andcrank-actuated connections from the shaft .to the lever.

3. 1n a gang plow, the combination with a truck frame, of a plurality ofplows having their beams pivotally attached to the truck frame,plow-lifting devices including a rock-shaft, automatic locks for holdingthe iframe on the post, of a plow-lifting device including a shaftjournaled in the post, means for driving the shaft in the post 'from thewheel, interineshing bevel gears7 one of which is keyed to the shalt inthe post with freedom for sliding movement thereon, a clutch 'forconnecting the other oit said gears to the first not-ed shaft, and meansfor operating the clutch.

12. ln a gang plow, the combination with a wheel-supported truck frame,ci two plows Ying beams pivotally attached to the truck iframe, arock-shaft journaled on the trame, a :fixed crank arm and a loose crankarm on the rocloshaft plow-lifting rods connected to the rear portionsof the plow beams, one ot saidl rods being connected to the iiXed crankarm and the other of said rods being connected to the loose crank armfor radial adjustment in respect to the rock-shaft, means forconnecting` the loose crank arm to the rock-shaft and disconnecting thesame therefrom. at will, means for operating the rock shaftj and. twoindependent plow counterhalancing devices, one ot which is operative onthe rock-shaft and the other oi which is operative on the loose crankarm.

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13. In a gang plow, t-he combination with a wheel-supported truck frame,of two plows having beams pivotally attached to the truck frame, arock-shaft jonrnaled on the frame, a fixed crank arm and a loose crankarm n the rock-shait, plow-lifting rods connected to the rear portionsoi' the plow beams, one of said rods 1being connected to the fixed crankarm and the other of said rods being connected to the loose crank armfor radial adjustment in respect to the rock-shaft, means for connectingthe loose crank arm to the rock-shaft and disconnecting the sametherefrom, at will, means for operating the rock-shaft two independentplow counterbalancing devices, one oit which is operative on therock-shaft and the other of which is operative on the loose crank arm,and means for securing the loose crank arm in a position, when rcieasedfrom the rock-shaft, to hold the respective plow raised.

1n testimoni7 whereoil I aiiix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

JOHN A. BERGREN. lWitnesses A. F. YOUNGBERG, NnLs S. ANDERSON.

